NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s merchandise trade deficit in November widened to a record level, driven by a rise in gold imports, while exports fell driven by a fall in prices, officials said on Monday. of the Ministry of Commerce.
India’s merchandise trade deficit in November was $37.84 billion, according to a Reuters calculation based on exports and imports data.
Economists expected the country’s trade deficit in November to be $23.9 billion, according to a Reuters poll. The deficit stood at $27.14 billion in October.
India’s merchandise exports in November stood at $32.11 billion, while imports were $69.95 billion, according to the data. The previous month, merchandise exports amounted to $39.2 billion and imports to $66.34 billion.
Inbound gold shipments hit a record $14.8 billion last month, more than double October’s $7.13 billion, data showed.
“Gold imports have been a major culprit for the excess trade deficit, having seen an increase of almost 50% so far this year compared to last year,” said Madhavi Arora, chief economist at Emkay Global Financial Services. .
Both consumption and investment demand for gold have increased, while the global price of gold has also increased materially, Arora said.
India’s merchandise exports fell in November from the previous month but rose 2.17% year-on-year in the April-November period, the data showed.
“Merchandise exports have been affected mainly due to the fall in global crude oil prices,” Sunil Barthwal, India’s commerce secretary, told reporters while releasing the trade figures.
“We are focusing on 20 countries where the export potential is very high this year and next,” Barthwal said, adding that six manufacturing sectors have been identified for export promotion along with six services with higher potential.
In total, exports of goods and services were estimated at $67.79 billion in November and imports at $87.63 billion, compared to $73.21 billion in exports and $83.33 billion in imports, respectively, in the previous month.